1. How effective are the opening chapters of A Farewell to Arms? What makes them effective/ineffective?
2. Write an essay discussing Hemingway's use of lowlands and mountains as symbols.
3. Compare and contrast the novel's most significant supporting characters: Rinaldi and the priest.
4. Are Henry's reasons for deserting the Italian army convincing? Why or why not?
5. Compare the novel's two idyllic sections: the summer spent in Milan and the winter in Switzerland.
6. Compare and contrast Italy and Switzerland in general, as they appear in this novel.
7. Write an essay in which you disagree with the truism that the essential Hemingway style is typified by short, declarative sentence.
8. Ernest Hemingway has been accused of sexism. Is Catherine Barkley a believable, three-dimensional character? What about the other female characters in A Farewell to Arms?
9. Is Hemingway's treatment of the love between Henry and Catherine too much or not enough?
10. Write an essay about the common man in A Farewell to Arms.
